Designer of the Day: Mimi Jung

Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.

Age: 37

Occupation: Visual artist.

Instagram: @bymimijung

Hometown: Seoul + NYC.

Studio location: Los Angeles.

Describe what you make: Fiber-based art.

The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Four Teal Walls and Fallen Fence. Four Teal Walls came earlier, but it informed by entire current body of work including many of my 2D framed pieces. Fallen Fence is the result of constant reiterations and examination from that body of work.

Describe the problem your work solves: My work in many ways helps resolve my own struggles. I chose to be an artist, so being self-serving comes with the territory! But hopefully once the work leaves my studio, it sparks others to engage and self-reflect.

Describe the project you are working on now: I’m currently working on a 3’ x 9’ wall sculpture for a private collector. This commission came through Jamie Bush, so I know this piece is going into a beautiful space!

A new or forthcoming project we should know about: I have an upcoming two-person gallery exhibition at Carvalho Park in New York from February 8 to March 17. The title of the show is “History Lessons: Delphine Hennelly + Mimi Jung.”

What you absolutely must have in your studio: Shadow (my dog), complete silence on some days and on other days, music (Sonos), audiobooks (Libby app), and Netflix (Cheers). Some kind of boiling hot beverage all year long: mint tea, oolong tea, smoked green tea, chai tea, hibiscus… really any kind of tea! I have a 2,000-square-foot studio all to myself that’s flooded with natural light, one of the many perks of living in Los Angeles. I could not do what I do without having this kind of stillness, space, and light.

What you do when you’re not working: I’ve worked very hard to have a very quiet life. I’m usually at my house with my husband and dogs, roasting veggies. I do occasionally shock my friends by going out to an opening/gathering of some sort. Promise of delicious food usually helps to get me out! On days when I do socialize, I prefer to spend one-on-one time (mostly eating) with people I love rather than surround myself with noise.

Sources of creative envy: Doris Salcedo, Do Ho Suh, Clyfford Still, Ha Chong-Hyun, Issey Miyake, Anne Truitt, Kimsooja, Rachel Whiteread and Haegue Yang.

The distraction you want to eliminate: People who send 50 emails a day with one question at a time, all marked urgent.

Concrete or marble? Marble. Nature always wins.

High-rise or townhouse? If I had to pick, I guess a townhouse. Although 77 acres with spectacular views is the goal.

Remember or forget? Remember, even if it kills you. Learn from remembering.

Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts, don’t get me started!

Dark or light? Light! It changes everything.